(CNN) - Federal agents and prosecutors investigating the attack on the U.S. diplomatic compound in Benghazi have filed charges against several people, including Ahmed Khattalah, a prominent member of a Libyan militia that officials believe was involved in the assault, people briefed on the investigation said.

The charges under seal are the first criminal counts to emerge from the probe.

Washington (CNN) – Nearly a year later, Benghazi remains a flashpoint in Washington for two very different reasons: indefensible pre-attack policy decisions and irresistible post-attack politics.

The Obama White House, from the president on down, complains of "phony" Republican-led congressional investigations. Yet the administration's own reluctant, and at times inaccurate, responses to congressional inquiries have contributed to the GOP charge that the administration, at a minimum, has been less than transparent.

Washington (CNN) – A Republican lawmaker demanded Wednesday to know why investigators have not captured or killed any of the suspects in the attack on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, pointing out that CNN was able to find a man who some say was the ringleader in the assault that left the ambassador and three other Americans dead.

Eight GOP lawmakers are asking that incoming FBI Director James Comey brief Congress within 30 days about the investigation. They say the administration's inquiry into the September 11, 2011, attacks in Libya has been "simply unacceptable," according to a draft letter obtained by CNN.

Washington (CNN) - Labeling the Obama administration's investigation of the September 2012 Benghazi attacks "simply unacceptable," eight Republican lawmakers are demanding more aggressive steps from the new FBI Director James Comey and asking that he brief Congress within 30 days.

"It has been more than 10 months since the attacks," the GOP lawmakers said in a draft of a letter to Comey obtained by CNN. "We appear to be no closer to knowing who was responsible today than we were in the early weeks following the attack. This is simply unacceptable."FULL POST

(CNN) – Of the three major controversies plaguing the Obama administration in recent weeks, the drama surrounding the Internal Revenue Service is the most pressing to U.S. voters in a new survey.

According to a Quinnipiac University poll released Thursday, 44% of registered voters say the IRS probe of conservative groups seeking tax-exempt status is the most important. A little fewer than a quarter - 24% - say the Obama administration's handling of last year's terror attack against a U.S. diplomatic post in Benghazi, Libya, is of the most concern, while 15% say the same about the Justice Department's seizure of phone records of Associated Press reporters.FULL POST

Washington (CNN) - House Republicans continued to demand answers Wednesday on the Benghazi attack, one day the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee issued a congressional subpoena to current and former State Department officials over the issue.

In a letter to U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, 15 members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee demanded to know what actions were taken against four people Kerry had testified would face consequences for failing to protect Chris Stevens, the ambassador to Libya, and others at the U.S. mission in Benghazi,FULL POST

(CNN) – After a war of words – and a subpoena – the co-chair of a review board that investigated last September's attack in Benghazi, Libya, has agreed to be interviewed privately by congressional investigators.

Thomas Pickering, a former ambassador, will voluntarily appear for a transcribed interview conducted by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, the panel's chairman said Wednesday. It's the latest development in the dispute over how and where to examine the review board's report, which Republicans regard as inadequate.FULL POST

(CNN) – Jonathan Karl, chief White House correspondent for ABC News, addressed criticism of his reporting on the Benghazi talking points controversy, saying in a statement to CNN that he regrets the inaccuracy of his report.

“Clearly, I regret the email was quoted incorrectly and I regret that it’s become a distraction from the story, which still entirely stands. I should have been clearer about the attribution. We updated our story immediately," he said in the statement to Howard Kurtz, host of CNN's "Reliable Sources." FULL POST

Washington (CNN) – President Barack Obama comes out of what was arguably the worst week of his presidency with his approval rating holding steady, according to a new national poll.

But a CNN/ORC International survey released Sunday morning also indicates that congressional Republicans are not overplaying their hand when it comes to their reaction to the three controversies that have consumed the nation's capital over the past week and a half. And the poll finds that a majority of Americans take all three issues seriously.FULL POST